Page 74 of Too Safe

Either way, it’s clear my meddling was in vain. She doesn’t have to be in the same room to dominate his every thought. Shit. Maybe he would have sleptbetterif they’d roomed together. Not that I’ll admit that to either of them.

Anger flashes through me when I consider how Josephine could hurt him.Usehim. Chew him up and spit him out. Does she know the power she possesses?

Kylian’s a big boy, but he doesn’t always grasp the finer nuances of interpersonal relationships. If Josephine realizes the hold she has on him and decides to use that somehow…

Another vibration. But this one’s not from Kylian.

Locke: Is Joey up? I’ll take her down to breakfast so you can get on with your routine

My whole body tenses when I read his attempt at casual. Kylian’s clearly not the only one entranced by this girl. I’m trying to muster up the cold distrust I’m used to associating with women. But then Josephine shifts on top of me.Fuck. She’s so soft and malleable when she’s asleep. Her softness presses into my chest, and it’s all I can do to not hold her tighter.

Before I can lose myself down that rabbit hole, I drag my attention back to the screen. At least Locke has the decency to try and downplay his interest. Although I’m not sure if he’s doing it for my benefit or hers. Or, hell, maybe even his own? He hooked up with her first, according to what Kendrick saw in the butler’s pantry during our first party of the season.

Though Josephine pins at least some of the blame for her predicament on Nicky. He was with Kendrick when she spotted them at the spa. According to her, he’s the reason she ran after them in the first place. As far as I know, things have cooled off between them considerably since then. I haven’t found the gumption to ask him point-blank where they stand, though.

And then there’s K. I hadn’t even considered how having her at the house might affect him. He’s such a softie when he’s not on the field. I figured he’d be the easiest-going of the bunch when our house guest moved in. It’s turned out to be worst-case scenario there. He can hardly stand to be in the same room as her. And every time I’ve tried to ask him about it, he blows me off.

That’s not him. That’s notus. We’ve been playing together for a decade; living together for years. I know him as well as I know myself. Hell, I know all of them to that extent. Their hopes. Dreams. Fears. Frustrations. There’s a bond between the four of us that’s always been unshakable.

Until now.

Untilher.

The wail of my alarm ricochets through the room, eliminating every other thought from my mind. I can’t dwell on what’s happening or what might be, on what she’s doing to us or how this whole arrangement could backfire in epically awful ways. I can only control the here and now. I owe it to my boys—to my team—to show up ready to win.

Chapter 29

Josephine

Istartleawakeatthe sound of a shrill phone alarm blaring at full volume.

I’m warm. Maybe even a little overheated. The humidity in the south is relentless. I swear I can feel it seeping through the walls and thickening the atmosphere even when the air conditioning runs all night.

Yawning, I gasp when my cheek slides against something sticky. I blink my eyes open, only then realizing that my face is pressed against soft, supple skin.

Not just any skin. The tanned, taut, hot skin of my captor.

Awareness prickles down my spine as I do a full inventory of my body. My cheek against his chest isn’t the only point of contact between Decker Crusade and me. Not by a long shot.

My face is practically smashed into his pec.

My arm is draped over his waist.

And yep. Fuck. I do, in fact, have my leg hitched up over his upper thigh. As if I’m about to mount him like a pony.

In a painfully slow retreat (literally, because my cheek is partially glued to his skin from a combination of his sweat and drool), I peel my face off him and extricate my limbs as best I can. I hold my breath as I roll to my back, but the pile of pillows behind me makes it almost impossible to put distance between us. So much for Decker’s carefully crafted pillow dam.

An exhale laced with shock and relief presses out of my lungs, though the sound is masked by the still blaring ringer of the alarm.

I’m no longer touching him when he begins to stir.

Thank fuck.

I would have died had he woken up and found me in his arms.

Despite the way I like to ogle him when he’s not barking orders out of his bossy facehole, I don’t need an awkward cuddle session to contend with today.

“Time to get up,” he murmurs. He sits up with ease—and the way his abs ripple with the movement is immediately imprinted on my brain—then runs a hand through his rumpled hair.

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